There’s a change in direction for the start of the Main St. reconstruction project.
The city is adjusting its plans and beginning the project at Sherbrooke St. and moving westward.
It was originally supposed to start at Cassells St.
Officials say the change is being made at the request of the Downtown Improvement Area (DIA).
“Based on the input of its membership, the DIA requested that the sequencing of the project be reversed,” said Mayor Peter Chirico. “The past few years have been challenging for downtown merchants and they’re still trying to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Given that the DIA property and business owners will be impacted by the project the most, the city has made the decision to accommodate this request.”
The city says MCA Contracting has confirmed the change will have no impact on the project cost or completion date.
The project will take place over two years and will proceed one block at a time, with each block expected to take about three months.
Work is slated to get underway next month and is tentatively scheduled for completion in the fall of 2024.
“The DIA remains fully supportive of this project which will help to create more vibrancy in the downtown and bring more development and investment to the heart of our city,” said DIA Chair Katie Bevan.
A date hasn’t been finalized yet, but the city says an open house on the project is going to take place at City Hall before the work begins.
